Stephen Ezell
Stephen Ezell is vice president for global innovation policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and director of ITIF’s Center for Life Sciences Innovation. He also leads the Global Trade and Innovation Policy Alliance. His areas of expertise include science and technology policy, international competitiveness, trade, and manufacturing.
Ezell is the coauthor of Innovating in a Service-Driven Economy: Insights, Application, and Practice (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) and Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage (Yale, 2012).
Ezell came to ITIF from Peer Insight, an innovation research and consulting firm he cofounded in 2003 to study the practice of innovation in service industries. At Peer Insight, Ezell led the Global Service Innovation Consortium, published multiple research papers on service innovation, and researched national service innovation policies being implemented by governments worldwide.
Prior to forming Peer Insight, Ezell worked in the New Service Development group at the NASDAQ Stock Market, where he spearheaded the creation of the NASDAQ Market Intelligence Desk and the NASDAQ Corporate Services Network, services for NASDAQ-listed corporations. Previously, Ezell cofounded two successful innovation ventures, the high-tech services firm Brivo Systems and Lynx Capital, a boutique investment bank.
Ezell holds a B.S. from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, with an honors certificate from Georgetown’s Landegger International Business Diplomacy program.
Research Areas
Recent Publications
US-India Subnational Innovation Competitiveness Index
For policymakers to bolster the global competitiveness of their nations and regions, they first must know where they stand. This report benchmarks the 87 regions of India and the United States using 13 commonly available indicators of strength in the knowledge economy, globalization, and innovation capacity.
Evidence to Inform Biopharmaceutical Policy: A Call for Research on the Impact of Public Policies on Investment in Drug Development
The scope and magnitude of the trade-off between immediate savings from lower drug prices and future health benefits from clinical development remain poorly understood and quantified. To support rigorous evaluations and inform evidence-based policymaking, it is crucial to invest in this area through research grants and improved access to federal and private data.
Evidence-Based Biopharmaceutical Policymaking: Symposium Report
There is a need for more rigorous evidence and more recent, high-quality data to inform biopharmaceutical policymaking by shedding light on the relationship between pharmaceutical firms’ expectations of financial returns from new drugs and their ability to invest in further R&D to discover future generations of drugs.
Advancing US-Japan Economic Security Partnership and Countering Chinese Economic Coercion
The United States and Japan must make a concerted effort to mutually advance their economic security and counter Chinese economic coercion, while bringing other allied nations aboard the enterprise to the greatest extent possible.
How Innovative Is China in the Display Industry?
Chinese companies have become leading innovators in display technologies, in addition to becoming the largest global producers. China’s display industry has grown as a result of extensive subsidies, rampant intellectual property theft, and economies of scale.
The CHIPS ACT Is Not a Subsidy Program, and It Will Not Address Any Given Company’s Competitiveness Challenges
Building a new fab in Asia is 30 percent cheaper than building one in the United States. So, the key point of CHIPS was not to subsidize companies by giving them money to undertake investments they would have made anyway. It was to remove the rationale for making those investments in Asia instead of in the United States.
How Innovative Is China in Semiconductors?
China stands about five years behind global leaders in high-volume manufacturing of leading-edge logic semiconductor chips, and continues to trail in memory chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, although Chinese firms have made inroads in semiconductor design and production of legacy semiconductor chips.
ITIF’s Innovation Policy Reading List for Summer 2024
To save you a trip to the library or bookstore, this list includes not just books we recommend for policy wonks and the general public alike, but also books we do not recommend.
How Innovative Is China in the Electric Vehicle and Battery Industries?
China is at the global forefront of the electric vehicle (EV) and EV battery industries. Its firms produce nearly two-thirds of the world’s EVs and more than three-quarters of EV batteries. They also have produced notable innovations in EV products, processes, and customer experiences.
Airbus CEO Indicts Wrong Global Trade Villain
Only a full commitment from the European Union and United States can counter China's economic predation and preserve a market-based system. Criticism that doesn't include China's subsidization, IP theft, and product dumping isn't serious.
Podcast: China’s Wide Lead in Nuclear Power Generation, With Stephen Ezell
Stephen Ezell appeared on the Energi Talks podcast with journalist Markham Hislop to discuss ITIF’s assessment of Chinese innovation in the nuclear industry.
How Innovative Is China in Nuclear Power?
Though China built upon a foreign base of technology, it has become the world’s leading proponent of nuclear energy. Chinese firms are well ahead of their Western peers, supported by a whole-of-government strategy that provides extensive financing and systemic coordination.
Recent Events and Presentations
Manufacturing USA: 10 Years of American Innovation
Watch now for a conversation detailing the effect and importance of Manufacturing USA, and emphasizing the importance of sustained investment in the program to policymakers.
Can China Innovate in Advanced Industries?
Please join the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation for an expert briefing event to discuss the findings of a 20-month ITIF investigation into Chinese firms’ innovative capabilities in key advanced industries, including robotics, chemicals, nuclear power, electric vehicles, semiconductors, AI, quantum computing, and biotechnology.
The Nuclear Frontier, Securing America’s Energy Future
Stephen Ezell joined an expert panel hosted by The Hill to discuss how nuclear power can help the United States meet unprecedented electricity demand and examine the path ahead after the ADVANCE Act.
Can China Innovate in EVs?
Watch now for an expert briefing event on Capitol Hill where panelists discussed an ITIF report exploring Chinese EV innovation, the state of global competition in EVs, China’s aggressive support tactics, and what the United States needs to do to stay competitive.
The Right Prescription: Policy Priorities for Advancing Innovation in U.S. Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing
Stephen Ezell delivers a featured presentation at the 2024 national meeting of the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIMBL).
Principles for National Innovation Success
Stephen Ezell presents on the principles of national innovation success to the Colombian think tank INNOS.
Prospects for US-Japan Economic Security Partnership and Countering Coercion
Stephen Ezell presents on the state of global geoeconomic competition and avenues for United States-Japan economic security collaboration for the Japan Foundation.
CHIPS and Science Program Updates
Stephen Ezell presents on the status of the CHIPS and Science Program.
Preserving U.S. Leadership in Biopharmaceutical Innovation
Watch now for an expert panel discussion surrounding the ITIF report examining why the United States lost its lead in other advanced technology industries, and how policymakers can avoid repeating the same mistakes in the biopharmaceutical sector.
Assessing India’s Readiness to Compete in Global Semiconductor Value Chains
Watch now for an expert panel discussion about a new ITIF report that was commissioned to inform the U.S. and Indian governments for their joint initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET).
Assessing the Dominican Republic’s Readiness to Compete in Global Semiconductor and PCB Value Chains
Watch now for an ITIF event releasing a report that will explore the Dominican Republic’s preparedness to compete in global semiconductor and PCB value chains.
Innovation and Competitiveness: GTIPA Summit, 2023
Join members of the Global Trade and Innovation Policy Alliance (GTIPA) for a series of expert panel discussions on technology and innovation policy. Topics will include the keys to subnational innovation competitiveness in Europe and South America, optimal ways to stimulate life sciences innovation, how digital technologies can drive decarbonization, and the possibilities for reimaging value chains in the global trading system.